, 1887-07-02
CT

The Ontario public is already tolerably ia
miliar with the principal facts in the Lugga-
curran controversy, and will be able without
any assistance from us to estimate MIR.
OBrien's version of them at it's proper value.
One or two new points which he touched or
attempted to touch upon yesterday or which
have been recently produced in his behalf,
may, however, be referred to for the sake OF
indicating the truth. It is alleged, for in
stance, though this is ancient history and
has no bearing upon the Queens Coun-
ty cases, or indeed upon the present Lord
Lansdowne's treatment of his tenants there
or elsewhere, that the Governor-G Generals
grandfather evicted his Kerry tenants during
the famine and sent them on board emigrant
ships to perish miserably. The fact is that
the Kerry of that day, like the whole of the
west and southwest of Ireland, was conges-
ted. The potato famine had overwhelmed
the swarming population; the poor rates ex-
ceeded the rental value of the soil; no one
could pay rent; the country was stricken and
bankrupt. In this crisis Lord L~ansdowne's
grandfather, who had not received a sou from
his Kerry estates for four or fves years,
offered to send to America, at his own
expense, oil who desired to go; and a large
number of tenants eagerly seized the chance.
With many of them it was Il question of aban-
doning Ireland or of remaining in it to die.
It is too true that fever and cholera broke
out amongst the unhappy refugees, but Lord
Lansdowne was no more responsible for that
calamity than for the overcrowded state OF
Kerry or for the potato rot itself. He did all
that lay in any mans power to save the PEG.
pie. Again, it is charged against the present
Lord Lansdowne-the accusation, we regret
to say, has been made at second q n by
Archbishop Lynch amongst others-that he
borrowed money from the Government under
the improvement Act at a low rate of inte-
rest and lent it to his Kerry tenants at a
higher, thus playing the part of a gombcen
man or Insurer with public funds. This charge
like the rest, is based upon a misrepresentation
of the facts. 1t was first made by Mr.. (now
SIR Charles Russell, the Acknowledgement
for England in the last Gladstone Admins
tration, and a very distinguished Irishman.
Sir Charles statement was founded on de-
fective information supplied to him by per-
sons who probably had no great desire to sup
ply him with the truth; and was at once met
and refuted by Lord LansdowDe an, letters
to the London Daily Telegraph, ;'thei vehicle
employed by Sir Charlesin making thecharge.
It may be we'll TO add that the Tcfarges was
sprung Immediately after Lord LaTsdowns
had broken with the Gladstone Cabinet on
it's Irish policy and joined the Liberal Unio-
nists. The facts are simply theses In 1879
Lord La~nsdowne, under. an Act still in force,
obtained loans aggregating e6,5OO from the
Board of Works for improvement purposes.
Times were hard. great distress existed in
Kerry, and the money was applied to the
construction of drains, etc., at which a large
number Of the sufferers found employment.
For this loan Lord Lansdowne paid 81 per
cent, but he lent it to his tenants az . per
cent, although. as will be sseen,yo he had.to
assume the whole risk. To say nothing
about the risk, he lost about ID per cent. y
the transaction. In January. 1880, the dis.
tress having grown more acute. the Govern
8 offered drainage loans such as thissto
landlords at SO IS. Cd. per cent. Lord Lans-